Idiots With Instruments aims to be a ‘Toledo Woodstock’

The Eight Fifteens are excited to perform at “Idiots With Instruments” because of a connection the band has with The Village Idiot.

“That is really where it all started for The Eight Fifteens,” the wrote guitarist and vocalist Josh Q. Whitney in an email. “It is more than a bar; it is a community of people, a family that cares for one another.”

Twelve acts will perform from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Oct. 6 at The Village Idiot, 309 Conant Street.

The show is open to all ages and will showcase talent from Maumee and Toledo that have played and still play at The Village Idiot.

“We are very lucky to have a large group of musicians in this town that, instead of stepping on each other to get ahead, help and respect one another,” said Whitney, who coordinated and helped plan the event.

This is the first time for the show but Whitney hopes it will not be the last.

“I have been tossing the idea of a music fest around in my head for a little while now — to get local bands with originals and covers to perform a ‘Toledo Woodstock,’ if you will,” he said.

Nicole Khoury of Arctic Clam, who will perform at the show, said The Village Idiot is the greatest place in town to have a musical event and Toledo musicians are second to none.

“To be part of any event that combines the two is always top on our priority list,” Khoury said in an email.

The show will include Evan Bates, The House Band, Barile and May, The Killer Flamingos, Andrew Ellis, Old State Line, Bob Rex, The Eight Fifteens, Mike Fisher, Clarence Clamwater, Arctic Clam and Dooley Wilson. Each band will play 45-minute sets. There is a suggested, but not required, $5 donation at the door.

“Old State Line is proud to be considered part of the Village Idiot extended family,” Larry Meyer of Old State Line said in an email. “There is a sticker on the door that says ‘Be nice or go home.’ A lot of great people pass through that door, following that simple rule, and we’re happy to be part of that, let alone this amazing lineup of talent.”

Clamwater said he is looking forward to the show.

“Any time this many musicians get together and bring this many genres to the table, good things happen,” he said in an email. “It’s great for the community to gain exposure to the local music scene and it’s always a blast for the musicians.”